Korean food

Eating porridge, pasta and cutlets, our person wants at times something exotic. Recently, many restaurants have appeared, offering cuisine from different countries of the world. Someone likes Italian or French dishes, and someone is glowing from Thai or Korean food. Each of them has advantages, but it does not do without flaws.

Korean cuisine in a special account. On the one hand, we use many salines for a long time, and on the other hand, it does not really have any relation to national food. Around the Korean cuisine there are many stereotypes, which are worth debunking.

Sometimes it is not superfluous to find out what you really eat. Harmful myths can only scare off this delicious exotic food. We are told that Koreans eat only spicy and fried, that this food is harmful to the stomach. Let’s understand!

Koreans eat a lot of meat.

This myth is due to the reviews of Korean restaurants, mainly located in America. There are often ordered dishes that can be considered heavyweight due to meat. But in restaurants in the territory of Korea, another situation. There, meat is not the basis of nutrition, this place is occupied by rice.

Koreans eat a lot of beef.

This myth has a similar origin. The fact is that in America, really is preparing a lot of beef. This is explained by the cheapness of such meat in the country. For Korea itself, beef is an expensive treat, in some establishments in general the highest price in the world for such meat. So beef is cooked here not every day, but several times a month.

Korean food is too sharp.

In Korean cuisine, there are some dishes that are really sharp. However, compared to other kitchens, they are far from being record holders. Kimchi can be acute at a young age, but over time the effect is relaxed. In Indian, Mexican, Thai and even American cuisines there are a lot of dishes, sharper than most Korean ones. In the chili used in the dishes, there are notes of witticism that do not come immediately. That’s why you should be careful. Immediately nothing is felt, but after a few seconds comes a burning sensation. This Americans say scornfully about the spicy cabbage, believing that only Koreans can eat their meals. Let’s leave it on their conscience.

Koreans eat dog meat.

Let’s make it clear – in Korea, the meat of dogs is really eaten, but there are other cultures that eat dogs even more. It is more likely to see such dishes on sale in the Chinese markets in Seoul, than on Korean ones. It is believed that such a food produces a curative effect. It helps the old people to cheer up in the summer. During the epidemic of tuberculosis it was believed that such a dish would help to resist the disease. Those who managed to taste such meat say that this food is not something special. Dogs in Korea eat less and less. There are quite real problems with the meat procurement industry for such animals. Just the myth that Koreans use this product is so old that it begins to sound like racism. Talking about it, it’s like joking about blacks and watermelons. The accusation of Koreans in eating dogs simply speaks of low culture and limited human.

Kimchi is rotten cabbage.

This name refers to pickled vegetables, most often it is Peking cabbage. Between decay and fermentation there is a thin, but distinct line. In general, fermentation products, not only kimchi, are better digested by our body. Many of them have beneficial bacteria. In fact, in our diet there are many products that use this process. This is cheese, wine, beer, sauerkraut, yoghurts. Beginners can scare the smell of kimchi, but the young cheeses do not smell in the best way. To this dish, which seems at first sight disgusting, you just need to get used to it.

Korean food is healthy, bears well-being.

In fact, this issue is not so unambiguous. More and more foreigners are joining this food, but Koreans are gradually abandoning it.At the heart of most dishes is vegetarian and low-fat food. However, it is worth noting a high sodium content in dishes. It is no coincidence that Korea has some of the highest rates of stomach cancer in the world. Probably, there is some relation to what people put in their stomach. However, fans of Korean food prefer not to focus on this fact. They even look down on fans of Western diets, not so “useful”. For those who want to eat really healthy, it is better to attend to their own cuisine.

You can not leave sticks stuck in Fig.

It is said that this is a sign of bad taste. In Asia, it is believed that stuck into the center of rice, vertically up sticks indicate the commemoration of the deceased. In fact, in Korea, few people pay attention to this. Even the locals themselves leave so sticks, paying tribute to convenience, rather than signs. The older generations, of course, are unhappy with this ignoring of traditions, but everything remains at the level of grumbling.

You can eat rice only with chopsticks.

Many manners at the table are myths invented. In Korea, it is customary to handle a spoon, using it not only for soup, and not just for toddlers. With its help, eat rice. Simply everyone chooses the tool that is more convenient for him.

Bo Ssam is fried pork.

This myth appeared thanks to David Chang. In his Momofuku Sam Bar he made Bo Sama a popular dish. It looks like fried pork served with fresh oysters and lettuce leaves. Does not it sound appetizing? The edition of The New York Times has published a corporate recipe for this dish. Koreans themselves were much surprised by its composition. Bo Ssam is made from baked meat. In the Korean kitchen frying pans are not used, and the meat is not fried. So gourmets expect a small surprise in the form of an original dish, which does not seem quite what it is.

Korean food has a lot of cilantro, coconut, lime.

American recipes regularly publish recipes for “Korean” dishes. In fact, most often they are written by those who just stopped once in the national quarter in their own city. On the culinary show “Top Chef” they even cooked panna cotta (boiled cream) from coconut, claiming that this is a Korean dish. And other contestants offered recipes with cilantro that pushed away from such dishes of all, except for fans of extreme food. In the West, there is a tendency to unite all the diverse Asian cuisine. But Korea is in the north-eastern part of the continent. There are no coconuts, pineapples or lychees. In Korea there are lemons, but there are no limes. It is necessary to stop confusing the cuisine of this country with other Asian southeastern ones. In Korea itself, the situation is reversed, here all European cuisines are mixed together.

Korean food increases the number of spermatozoa and their quality.

In any kitchen there are dishes that, supposedly, improve the masculine possibilities, the quality of sperm. But, frankly, there is more marketing than real action. And even such an organization as the Chinese Food Foundation has removed information about the positive effect of national dishes on the number of spermatozoa from its website. Yet to science this has nothing to do, let the myths remain myths.

Korean food works wonders with health.

In fact, it is worth keeping an eye on the next diet or national cuisine, doing miracles with health, until full-blown blind testing is conducted. It was said that kimchi can cure AIDS, bird flu, cancer … When advertising Korean food, we will be told about its special ingredients, which do something useful for health. Who will check? Believe it, it’s like relying on those miracle tools advertised on TV late at night. Without the conclusion of doctors to talk about the unique properties of a certain cuisine is clearly not worth it.

Soy sauce in Korea is the most common.

In the national cuisine of this country there are many sauces and soy is not among them.

In Korea, salads are popular.

But here practically do not eat salads, the myth appeared thanks to the Russian version of the “Korean” dishes.

Seafood is very popular in Korea.

In this country, seafood is consumed approximately in the same volumes as we do. Fish here are even more expensive than meat, and the raw product is sometimes more expensive than cooked.

Koreans do not drink tea and coffee.

Actually, both of these drinks are consumed here. Tea, of course, is cooked green, not black. It is customary to drink food with non-carbonated mineral water. Her in the restaurant will always be served to the dish.

Korean dishes our stomachs do not tolerate well.

Those who “hooked” on this meal do not complain about digestive problems. There is an opinion that Korean food is certainly more useful than American food. By the way, there are very few obese people in this Asian country. Doshirak is a Korean invention.

There is an opinion that this food was invented either in the West or in Russia. In fact, so the Koreans call any food that you can take with you. In other words, the term includes not only noodles. It can be rice with meat, and vermicelli. And instant noodles in Korea is called “ramen”, it is sold in large cups. The taste – not to be distinguished from the Moscow “Doshiraka”, but the assortment is much larger.